In this day and age, the Internet and social media is everything. Pretty much everyone is on social media, especially the younger generation. Bad news: using social media makes you more prone to depression! A new study took a survey of adults between 19 and 32 and compared their social media usage to their happiness. And yup, you guessed right, those who used social media more often, were significantly more likely to be depressed. But WHY?
1. Constantly comparing yourself to others
We all do it, some more than others and usually without even realising we are doing it. You'll be scrolling through your feed and can't but find yourself thinking, "How did she afford to spend the summer in Spain? How did she afford that expensive handbag? Wait, she's engaged already?! Why is her waist to perfect?" After seeing this, you start questioning yourself as to how everyone else is doing so good and you aren't. And this puts a serious toll on your self-esteem. Damn, I do it ALL the time. How are these bloggers making so much money and here I am writing posts to no one. It's hard. The thing is with social media, you could be posting a flawless selfie in the morning, face full of make-up, edited the hell out of, and there you are sitting in bed feeling sorry for yourself. People choose what they post. They could be having hell in their life and be really sad and down about it. What you're seeing is not always 100% accurate. Just don't forget that.
2. Living for yourself
People ALWAYS, especially fellow bloggers, buy things with the only intention of Instagramming it. You start doing this and posting things just so other people know. I have always told myself I would never do that and be my own person, but I tell ya, it is hard. I mean look at trolls on Twitter, they are willing to hurt other people and make them feel bad, just to retweets! What the hell is that about. Your motivation to do things should never be to post it on social media. If you're laying in bed feeling low, but post a selfie of you at a spa, who are you kidding? Other people, but not yourself. Live for you. Post a selfie of you in bed feeling poop or just don't post today. You'll feel a lot better for it.
I had a while where I just felt so low about myself, so I didn't post for a while, I didn't post all the amazing things I was doing with my family and friends. Sometimes you've got to enjoy yourself without needing to tell the world. I went to a friends' wedding last weekend, it was such a beautiful wedding and I had a brilliant time. Those things are private, I didn't take photos of the amazing decor, but ya it would of make a brill blog post. But I chose to keep that time as private and enjoy myself rather than worrying that people are thinking I'm having a dull Saturday night.
3. Being exposed to bad news a little too much (and too many details)
Gosh, I am so guilty of this. I was poorly a few weeks ago, let me tell ya, all my Facebook friends knew. When I was struggling with depression a few years ago, all my Twitter follows knew I wanted to die. Like, that's too much info, that's private stuff for you and your family/friends.
The news is a lot of handle, I mean do we really want to know that someone else got stabbed today? Because of social media, we can't get away from it! I mean, come on, the national news, is there ever any good news? Find me some good news on the national news lately? Na, there was none. There's so much good in the world, but sometimes the Internet will only tell you the bad.
And let's be honest, who likes seeing 24/7 political rants on social media? Not me. I love politics, but come on, give me a break sometimes.
5. (This is biggie) Not properly communicating
We all do it, I text my friend saying "I'm outside, come out", instead of knocking on the door saying hello to her cute doggy and other half. Now, social media is a great tool to keep in touch with family, old friends, colleagues etc. But why not meet up and chat instead?! Go see them at their house, go out for coffee. Now I know sometimes, this is not the case and yeah social media is ace! I mean, half of my family live in Turkey, and it's amazing that I can see what their up to every day on Instagram and Facebook and chat to them daily. But that doesn't stop me from taking a spontaneous visit to see them every once in a while.
AND, give people a call!!! Don't text like "hey, what's up? How did the job interview go yesterday?" Pick up the damn phone and talk to them if you can't see them in purpose. It sucks so bad. Like instead of meeting your friend for coffee and catching up, you don't need to, just follow them on social media and you don't even need to ask them.
Social media is good for some relationships, but for others it can make you feel so damn lonely in the long run.
5. Letting social media eat up your day
Let me ask you, what's the first thing you do when you wake up in the morning? When you are waitin for a bus? Inbetween clients at work? Check you phone! I knew it. All those little breaks in the day, instead of just taking a break and relaxing, you check your social media. Put up a cheeky snap on Instagram, scrolling mindlessly through your Feed. Most of us use social media throughout our entire day - but it's only for a short time, so hey it's not too bad. But that time adds up and it affects your mood. Instead on my breaks, I call my boyfriend or my mum or dad and see how they are doing, grab a coffee and read a magazine. Trust me, you'll feel better for it.
How bad do you think your social media habits are? Are you going to try and cut down? Let me know on Twitter @iamayselulu
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